Adolf's catfish

Adolfo's cory, Corydoras adolfoi, is a peaceful schooling catfish from the blackwater tributaries of the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. Reaching around 5.5 to 6 cm, these corydoras have a cream body with a bold black stripe running through the eye and across the top of the head, a second dark band at the front of the dorsal fin, and a bright orange-red patch on the nape. They are obligate group animals and should be kept in a shoal of at least six, where they will display their full natural behaviour, constantly sifting the substrate for food with their delicate barbels.

A soft, sandy substrate is essential — gravel will abrade and eventually infect their barbels. Decorate with driftwood, beech or almond leaf litter, and shaded planting; leaf litter also fosters the microbe colonies that fry and juveniles graze on. Like all corydoras they are facultative air-breathers, so a gap must be left between the water surface and the coverslides. Water should be clean, well-filtered but with gentle flow, and very soft to moderately hard. These fish are highly sensitive to salt, medications, and sudden parameter swings, and do best in a mature aquarium. Like most corydoras they are egg-scatterers and will breed readily after large cool-water changes, depositing adhesive eggs on glass and plant leaves.